Undressing : the power of trust / James O'Neill.

Foreword -- On meeting Abraham -- Healing thyself -- A garden in Africa -- Permission to speak -- On fear and responsibility -- Ritual and resistance -- A room of one's own -- The mirror -- Undressing -- On being alone -- Imaginary friends -- The teenager -- The children -- Conclusions -- Afterword.

When therapist-in-training, James O’Neill, starts his placement at a therapy centre in West London, his first referral is Abraham, a silent and frightened young man in a tightly zipped, hooded anorak. After spending the majority of their initial sessions in silence, O’Neill gradually gains Abraham’s trust and learns of the abuse and violence he was subjected to as a child that caused him to hide away from the world – barely sleeping, too frightened to get undressed and shower, anything that might make him that vulnerable.